Worn Pathways
by Taryn Streambattle
Summary: A look into Kakashi's mind when he met his genin team for the first time. One shot. Gift fic for KakashiKrazed


Whoa, all done in three days! Surprise, surprise.

**Rating: K**- nothing bad

**Beta:** Silly, you don't beta a gift fic. Because a gift fic is supposed to be with influence from only one mind- your own, so it's on a more personal level, and betaing is half the fic. Would you let a friend color your gift picture? No.

**Disclaimer: **Not mine- if it was... I would make Iruka's life hell. (Naruto's is bad enough. And don't get me started on how much I would torture Kakashi.)

KakashiKrazed, you inspired this (Something in NMTEternalRivals, I think...) Either way, hope you and anybody else who reads likes it. Go read Krazed's fic _Never More than Eternal Rivals,_ which I suspect inspired this... but to understand that, you'll have to read (you guessed it) _The Long Road Home._ Hahaha- just do it. Or else I'll do to you what Iruka did to Kakashi in this fic...

(My English teacher totally died at the word "Krazed's")

Am I annoying yet? Anyways, here you go. Enjoy!

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_**The Path Well-Traveled**_

Hatake Kakashi walked down the hall, idly musing about his future genin team. He remembered how he had felt the first time he had walked this path.

He had wondered about whom he was about to meet, the people who he would share a strong bond with for the rest of his life- his future genin cell. He had wondered if Minato-sensei had felt like this when he had gone to meet his own genin team. He hadn't known, and never would. Kakashi knew what he had felt: fear. He had been afraid that he would fail his students- like he had failed his genin team. And fear... fear was something he could not afford to feel. He would be the leader of Team Seven, he would be the one to teach the children everything he knew about what it meant to be a shinobi. He would be responsible for all their successes, all their failures... and if they died, that would be his fault too.

And then they had failed his test. A simple test- one of the easiest tests a shinobi would ever face. And yet, every genin team he had ever tested had failed miserably. And this team would be no different, even if they came from Iruka's class this time instead of Mizuki's, even if one was an Uchiha and another a jinchūriki, even if the fabled Sharingan was in the team. Today's children knew nothing of pain or teamwork.

He idly considered pulling out _Icha Icha- _it was better than walking a path he had traveled almost a hundred times- but what he had done that last time, Iruka had gotten him assigned for gate watch. With Gai _and_ Anko, as if one wasn't bad enough.

He turned down the hall- finally Part One almost complete. Then came Part Two- the test, and Part Three- passing or failing the team, so far failing, and the paperwork and headaches that came with it. Finally locating the door, he paused uncertainly. Something felt wrong. He shrugged and opened the door. Probably an unusually bad group-

A light thud hit his head and a cloud of white dust enveloped his head, and he coughed the dust out, hands reaching automatically for a shuriken. _Finally, something interesting happened... _Then, cackling laughter invaded his ears, familiar guffawing that made him tense up like a set trap.

_What... Obito?_ He wiped the dust out of his eyes as quickly he looked up and saw three genin sitting on the benches.

It was as though history was repeating itself. There they were- neat carbon copies of his own genin team. It wasn't so much their appearance as it was their personalities, which he could see just by looking at their eyes and faces.

The extremely smart but boy-obsessed fangirl; the cold, calculating genius with no family who thought that others only slowed him down; and, most piercing of all, the goof-ball with more potential then anyone would ever give him credit for.

Tsumero Rin. Hatake Kakashi. Uchiha Obito.

The names from the scroll he had glanced at and idly slipped into his pocket played in his mind.

Haruno Sakura. Uchiha Sasuke. Uzumaki Naruto.

It was strange, the flashbacks he got at the most inopportune times... _  
_

_Kakashi cocked an eyebrow at his playful teammate as he placed a chalk eraser in the door. "What are you doing, dobe?" he asked. _

"_What does it look like?" Obito giggled gleefully as he stepped back to admire his handiwork, "I'm pranking our sensei!" _

"_Obito, you probably shouldn't do that..." Rin admonished, taking Kakashi's side- which was usually quite handy, but going annoying after a while. Couldn't she just shut up? _

"_Our sensei's a _jonin_, Obito," Kakashi said in the tone one would talk to an infant,"he's not going to fall for such a stupid tr-"_

_The door opened and the chalk eraser fell on the blonde head that poked through the doorway, raising a small cloud of white dust.. _

_Kakashi blinked. _'What a lame jonin...'_ he thought to himself. _

"Obito!_" Rin screamed in panic. _

"Awesome! _I pranked the Yellow Flash!" Obito cheered, bouncing up and down in his seat, ebony hair waving unchecked save by his new hitai-ate._

_Minato laughed and wiped the dust out of his hair, grinning at Obito. "A shinobi must always take advantage of his surroundings. Good work." _

Kakashi eyed the three genin. Fate was mocking him**.**

"My first impression," he said before he could stop himself, shaking from the pain of the memory, "I hate you. "

Hated her, because she lacked common sense and cared for nothing but her own personal gain and love life.

Hated Naruto, because didn't take life seriously yet- he didn't understand the way the world worked, he was too soft.

Hated Sasuke, because he was selfish, and didn't care that his comrades were the among the most valuable things you could find in this world. Hated Sasuke because he was just like his younger self.

But he already saw reasons to care for them, reasons to love them

Sakura could be gentle and loving, if the selfishness was knocked out of her. Like Rin.

Naruto had the same determination and incorrigibility that Obito had been gifted with, the same dedication to his comrades, even if he didn't know it.

Sasuke... he, too, was alone. He needed a solid rock in his life, an anchor that would not erode away over time or eat at his mind. He needed someone to confide in, someone to show him that revenge was not the path he needed to take.

And he knew that they would pass his test- already he could see that these genin were different from the ones he had tested before.

And still, they needed him. The old feeling welled up in him again, but he squashed it. He could not afford any fear- because fear led to hesitation, and that led to mistakes. Errors were inexcusable.

_I promise you, Minato-sensei, I will not fail you._

_

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_So, how was it? Not too terrible, I hope... either way, review please! Don't forget Long Road and Eternal Rivals- Anko and Gai are bored...


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